The Flawed Notion That Misbah 'Does Not Rotate the Strike'
1) There are dozens of innings where he has got a 50 with only 1, 2 or 3 boundaries and accumulated his runs in singles.
2) In New Zealand broadcaster’s coverage they use a statistic called ‘SS’ standing for scoring shots played. If a player gets 20 with 2 sixes and 2 fours his SS is 4 as he has played 4 scoring shots. If a player gets 21 with 19 singles and a two his SS is 20 as 20 scoring shots were played. It is a leading measure for strike rotation and how reliant a player is on boundaries. Misbah’s was higher than the rest during the last tour over there.
3) No consistent international batter can score runs without taking singles. You cannot score runs consistently without taking singles. Players who rely on boundary hitting eventually get found out. No top consistent batter scores a very high % of his runs in boundaries. It just can't happen. There is too much risk involved.
4) Only tail enders block and hit.
5) Every top class batter has a method of getting down the non strikers end. Misbah’s is to be patient and disciplined outside the off stump; forcing and waiting for a bowler to stray in line when bowling straighter where he can work balls into the on side.
6) Just because he is renowned for his defence and power, does not mean he does not have a middle game. You can say his defence and power are stronger more noticeable aspects than his middle game, but that’s not to say he does not have it at all. Also with the new fielding restrictions, defence and power are perhaps more important than single taking ability because one dayers are more now about clearing the ring and staying in to make the most of the death overs where there is a less fielder allowed outside than before.
7) Defence, single taking ability or power to find the fence is 3 aspects. Every player has an element of each. If you have 2 of the 3 aspects as strong areas you can excel.
8) When you can defend, survive and strike the ball as well as him, no need to get fussy about taking singles if it’s not there, less chance of getting soft dismissals.
9) In response to point 1 that if there were 3 or less boundaries in an innings of 60 say, then there must have been plenty of dots people will say. Well, firstly you can’t take a single from every ball, especially when you have good bowlers to come up against as you will get good deliveries that you need to keep out and respect if you want to survive.
10) Graham Thorpe was an expert for manoeuvring balls into gaps and manipulating the field. He played out many dots and maidens as well. He was one of the best at ticking over in singles and toying with the field. But his strike rate was still standard.
11) Joe Root's test debut at Nagpur was praised for being a masterpiece study of working balls into gaps. Yet his SR was less than 40. Just because there is a slower strike rate on display does not mean singles are not being scored or an effort is not being made.
These players have worse single taking ability than the Pakistan Captain
Marlon Samuels
Johnson Charles
Abdul Razzaq
Angelo Matthews
Ahmed Shehzad
Past
Mark Ramprakash
Paul Collingwood
Imran Khan (post injury when he was a batting all rounder) either a basher or a blocker
Nasser Hussain
Food for Thought
Historically, Pakistan and West Indies have been bad rotators of the strike.
Barring Asif Iqbal and Javed Miandad, not many Pakistan batters were/are that skilled in this area.
Even Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam were notorious for bad running between the wickets and lousy habits in this area. Running between the wickets and communication is the key to single taking. No one enjoys batting with players who run badly and run slowly.
Here is what Mohsin Khan said in his analysis on the day Misbah got 100 against SA
Anchor 'Why does Misbah not take singles like this in every match'
'Listen to what I am saying. Those who say Misbah doesn't do singles know nothing. How can you expect him to take singles when batsmen keep getting out every time he given them the strike? He knows he has to face the best bowlers. He has to play as many balls as possible and look to stay in and score for the team to have a chance. If he was playing with better batsmen then you will see. So many times he is stuck with the tail' - Mohsin Khan
2) In New Zealand broadcaster’s coverage they use a statistic called ‘SS’ standing for scoring shots played. If a player gets 20 with 2 sixes and 2 fours his SS is 4 as he has played 4 scoring shots. If a player gets 21 with 19 singles and a two his SS is 20 as 20 scoring shots were played. It is a leading measure for strike rotation and how reliant a player is on boundaries. Misbah’s was higher than the rest during the last tour over there.
3) No consistent international batter can score runs without taking singles. You cannot score runs consistently without taking singles. Players who rely on boundary hitting eventually get found out. No top consistent batter scores a very high % of his runs in boundaries. It just can't happen. There is too much risk involved.
4) Only tail enders block and hit.
5) Every top class batter has a method of getting down the non strikers end. Misbah’s is to be patient and disciplined outside the off stump; forcing and waiting for a bowler to stray in line when bowling straighter where he can work balls into the on side.
6) Just because he is renowned for his defence and power, does not mean he does not have a middle game. You can say his defence and power are stronger more noticeable aspects than his middle game, but that’s not to say he does not have it at all. Also with the new fielding restrictions, defence and power are perhaps more important than single taking ability because one dayers are more now about clearing the ring and staying in to make the most of the death overs where there is a less fielder allowed outside than before.
7) Defence, single taking ability or power to find the fence is 3 aspects. Every player has an element of each. If you have 2 of the 3 aspects as strong areas you can excel.
8) When you can defend, survive and strike the ball as well as him, no need to get fussy about taking singles if it’s not there, less chance of getting soft dismissals.
9) In response to point 1 that if there were 3 or less boundaries in an innings of 60 say, then there must have been plenty of dots people will say. Well, firstly you can’t take a single from every ball, especially when you have good bowlers to come up against as you will get good deliveries that you need to keep out and respect if you want to survive.
10) Graham Thorpe was an expert for manoeuvring balls into gaps and manipulating the field. He played out many dots and maidens as well. He was one of the best at ticking over in singles and toying with the field. But his strike rate was still standard.
11) Joe Root's test debut at Nagpur was praised for being a masterpiece study of working balls into gaps. Yet his SR was less than 40. Just because there is a slower strike rate on display does not mean singles are not being scored or an effort is not being made.
These players have worse single taking ability than the Pakistan Captain
Marlon Samuels
Johnson Charles
Abdul Razzaq
Angelo Matthews
Ahmed Shehzad
Past
Mark Ramprakash
Paul Collingwood
Imran Khan (post injury when he was a batting all rounder) either a basher or a blocker
Nasser Hussain
Food for Thought
Historically, Pakistan and West Indies have been bad rotators of the strike.
Barring Asif Iqbal and Javed Miandad, not many Pakistan batters were/are that skilled in this area.
Even Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam were notorious for bad running between the wickets and lousy habits in this area. Running between the wickets and communication is the key to single taking. No one enjoys batting with players who run badly and run slowly.
Here is what Mohsin Khan said in his analysis on the day Misbah got 100 against SA
Anchor 'Why does Misbah not take singles like this in every match'
'Listen to what I am saying. Those who say Misbah doesn't do singles know nothing. How can you expect him to take singles when batsmen keep getting out every time he given them the strike? He knows he has to face the best bowlers. He has to play as many balls as possible and look to stay in and score for the team to have a chance. If he was playing with better batsmen then you will see. So many times he is stuck with the tail' - Mohsin Khan
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